Alternative additives to enhance slurry dewatering

ABSTRACT

The invention provides methods and compositions for improving dewatering of mineral slurry. The method comprises adding an R-Succinic Compound (such as octadecenyl succinic acid, hexadecenyl succinic acid, and/or dodecenyl succinic acid) to the slurry. The R-Succinic Compound removes water that would otherwise be trapped within the filtered slurry cake.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation in part of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 14/190,507 filed on Feb. 26, 2014 the entire contents of whichare incorporated by reference in its entirety.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to compositions, methods, and apparatuses forimproving the dewatering of mineral slurries. Mining operationstypically involve grinding and slurrying of mineral ores with water orleach solution (chemical in water) that then undergoes a series ofprocesses to obtain the mineral in a purer form. An important, oftenfinal, step in minerals processing is the removal of water from theprocess slurry, yielding a final cake (either minerals or tailings) in asolid, ‘dry’ form. Dewatering processes such as filtration, withaddition of a dewatering aid, are often utilized to remove the waterfrom the mineral slurry. A dewatering aid is, typically, a chemicaladditive that is added to the mineral slurry just prior to filtration(or in some cases to wash water that is added on top of the filteredmineral slurry cake) which aims to help reduce the final moisturecontent of the filtered solids. The reduction in moisture content of themineral solid can lead to higher mineral product quality, higherfiltration and mineral transportation throughput and greater recovery ofleach solution or water. Thus there is clear need and utility for amethod of improving the range and performance of dewatering aids thatcan be used in mineral processing applications.

The art described in this section is not intended to constitute anadmission that any patent, publication or other information referred toherein is “prior art” with respect to this invention, unlessspecifically designated as such. In addition, this section should not beconstrued to mean that a search has been made or that no other pertinentinformation as defined in 37 CFR §1.56(a) exists.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

To satisfy the long-felt but unsolved needs identified above, at leastone embodiment of the invention is directed towards a method ofenhancing the dewatering of minerals. The method comprises the step ofadding to the slurry or to wash water added to the slurry; at least oneR-succinic compound.

The R-succinic compound may be one item selected from the listconsisting of: octadecenyl succinic acid, hexadecenyl succinic acid,dodecenyl succinic acid, and any combination thereof. The compositionmay further comprise a base. The composition may be more effective as adewatering agent than a similar composition comprising a similar orgreater molar amount of dioctylsulfosuccinate, fatty acid, or anycombination thereof than the molar amount of R-succinic compound in thecomposition. The composition may be added to mineral slurry upstreamfrom a filtration stage of a mineral processing operation. Thecomposition may be added to wash fluid added to the slurry or usedwithin the filtration process. The R-succinic compound may form in situwithin the slurry or wash fluid. The R-succinic compound may form froman anhydride added to the slurry or wash fluid.

Additional features and advantages are described herein, and will beapparent from, the following Detailed Description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A detailed description of the invention is hereafter described withspecific reference being made to the drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is an illustration of the application of the invention in theFiltration Stage of a Mineral Processing Process which shows options foraddition of the Dewatering Aid (DWA).

FIG. 2 is an illustration of the synthesis of a specific “R-SuccinicCompound” where R=C12 alkenyl.

FIG. 3 is an illustration of the synthesis of various forms of aspecific “R-Succinic Compound” where R=C12 alkenyl.

For the purposes of this disclosure, like reference numerals in thefigures shall refer to like features unless otherwise indicated. Thedrawings are only an exemplification of the principles of the inventionand are not intended to limit the invention to the particularembodiments illustrated.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Definitions

The following definitions are provided to determine how terms used inthis application, and in particular how the claims, are to be construed.The organization of the definitions is for convenience only and is notintended to limit any of the definitions to any particular category.

“R-Succinic Compound” means any one or more molecule(s) (including butnot limited to octadecenyl succinic acid, hexadecenyl succinic acid,and/or dodecenyl succinic acid), whose structure conforms to thegeneralized structure of: Formula 1, Formula 2, conjugate acid-basesthereof, and any combination thereof, wherein Formula 1 and Formula 2are:

where R and R′ are independent, distinct, and represent alkyl, alkenyl,or aromatic hydrocarbon groups containing 1-30 carbon atoms

“Octadecenyl Succinic Acid” means a molecule and acid-base conjugatesthereof having a general structure of:

“Hexadecenyl Succinic Acid” means a molecule and acid-base conjugatesthereof having a general structure of:

“Dodecenyl Succinic Acid” means a molecule and acid-base conjugatesthereof having a general structure of:

“Consisting Essentially of” means that the methods and compositions mayinclude additional steps, components, ingredients or the like, but onlyif the additional steps, components and/or ingredients do not materiallyalter the basic and novel characteristics of the claimed methods andcompositions.

“Dewatering” means removing water absorbed by or borne by a waterbearing mineral pulp, sludge, or mineral slurry undergoing a mineralprocessing application, dewatering may be performed for a number ofreasons including but not limited to enabling ore handling, easingtransport, facilitating further processing, and/or disposing of gangue,dewatering is accomplished at least in part by items which include butare not limited to one or more of: dewatering screens, vacuuming,suction, sedimentation, filtering, and thermal drying, and any of themethods/apparatuses described in The Nalco Water Handbook (3rd Edition),by Daniel Flynn, McGraw Hill (2009) in general and in particular pp.26.1-26.20.

“Filter” means a structure constructed and arranged to remove suspendedmaterials from within a liquid that is passed through it, more detaileddescriptions of filters and filtration are described in The Nalco WaterHandbook (3rd Edition), by Daniel Flynn, McGraw Hill (2009) in generaland in particular pp. 6.1-8.30.

“Filter Cake” means the accumulation of solid matter that is retained ona filter, it increases in the course of filtration and becomes thickeras more particulate matter is retained, with increasing layer thicknessthe flow resistance of the filter cake increases, and if not removedsoon enough, eventually thick filter cake can disrupt filtration becausethe flow resistance of the filter cake gets so high that too little ofthe liquid from the slurry being filtered can pass through the filtercake and the filter plugs.

“Mineral Processing Application” means a process whose step(s) includesthe separation of one or more commercially valuable minerals from arock, ore or an ore derivative, it includes but is not limited tooperations used to process materials who have as a constituent: metallicminerals, non-metallic minerals, zinc, tin, aluminum, feldspar, coal,iron, copper, gold, silver, rare earth metals, diamonds, sulfur, noblemetals, ferrous minerals, cobalt, nickel, metal sulfides, metal oxides,lithium, lead, molybdenum, cadmium, cobalt, sulfides, oxides, pyrites,hydrates, chromium, manganese, lime, calcium, carbonates, solids,silicates, tectosilicates, phyllosilicates, inosilicates,cyclosilicates, sorosilicates, orthosilicates, nesosilicates,non-silicates, nitrates, native element minerals, sulfides, oxides,halides, sulfates, gypsums, calcites, phosphates, organic minerals, andany combination thereof and/or of additional representative mineralsand/or processes described in the “extended sense” of Wills' MineralProcessing Technology: An Introduction to the Practical Aspects of OreTreatment and Mineral Recovery, (7th Edition), by B. A. Wills, ElsevierLtd, (2006).

“Membrane” means a structure having lateral dimensions much greater thanits thickness through which a mass transfer may occur, membranes may beused to filter liquids.

“Separation” and “Separation Method” means a mass transfer process thatconverts a mixture of substances into two or more distinct productmixtures, at least one of which is enriched in one or more of themixture's constituents, it includes but is not limited to such processesas: Adsorption, Centrifugation, cyclonic separation, density basedseparation, Chromatography, Crystallization, Decantation, Distillation,Drying, Electrophoresis, Elutriation, Evaporation, Extraction, Leachingextraction, Liquid-liquid extraction, Solid phase extraction, Flotation,Dissolved air flotation, Froth flotation, Flocculation, Filtration, Meshfiltration, membrane filtration, microfiltration, ultrafiltration,nanofiltration, reverse osmosis, Fractional distillation, Fractionalfreezing, Magnetic separation, Precipitation, Recrystallization,Sedimentation, Gravity separation, Sieving, Stripping, Sublimation,Vapor-liquid separation, Winnowing, Zone refining, and any combinationthereof.

“Slurry” means a mixture comprising a liquid medium within which finelydivided solids are dispersed or suspended, the liquid medium may beentirely water, partially water, or may not contain any water at all.

“Surfactant” is a broad term which includes anionic, nonionic, cationic,and zwitterionic surfactants. Enabling descriptions of surfactants arestated in Kirk-Othmer, Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology, ThirdEdition, volume 8, pages 900-912, and in McCutcheon's Emulsifiers andDetergents, both of which are incorporated herein by reference.

“Thickener” or “Settler” means a vessel used to effect a solid-liquidseparation of a slurry, often with the addition of flocculants, thevessel constructed and arranged to receive a slurry, retain the slurryfor a period of time sufficient to allow solid portions of the slurry tosettle downward (underflow) away from a more liquid portion of theslurry (overflow), decant the overflow, and remove the underflow.Thickener underflow and thickener overflow are often passed on tofilters to further separate solids from liquids.

“Water Soluble” means materials that are soluble in water to at least3%, by weight, at 25 degrees C.

In the event that the above definitions or a description statedelsewhere in this application is inconsistent with a meaning (explicitor implicit) which is commonly used, in a dictionary, or stated in asource incorporated by reference into this application, the applicationand the claim terms in particular are understood to be construedaccording to the definition or description in this application, and notaccording to the common definition, dictionary definition, or thedefinition that was incorporated by reference. In light of the above, inthe event that a term can only be understood if it is construed by adictionary, if the term is defined by the Kirk-Othmer Encyclopedia ofChemical Technology, 5th Edition, (2005), (Published by Wiley, John &Sons, Inc.) this definition shall control how the term is to be definedin the claims. All illustrated chemical structures also include allpossible stereoisomer alternatives.

Embodiments

At least one embodiment of the invention is directed towards theaddition of a dewatering composition to a dewatering stage of a mineralprocessing application. The composition comprises at least oneR-succinic compound. The R-succinic compound may be one item selectedfrom: octadecenyl succinic acid, hexadecenyl succinic acid, dodecenylsuccinic acid, and any combination thereof. Some representative examplesof mineral processing applications and details thereof are described inthe references: Dictionary of Mining, Mineral, and Related Terms,American Geological Institute, 2nd edition (June 1997), SME MiningReference Handbook, by Raymond L. Lowrie, Society for Mining Metallurgyand Exploration, (2002), Introductory Mining Engineering, by Howard L.Hartman, John Wiley & Sons, (2002), and Evaluating Mineral Projects:Applications and Misconceptions, by Thomas F. Torries, Society forMining Metallurgy and Exploration, (1998). The dewatering stage canoccur before, during, and or after any one, some, or all of the variousprocessing stages described therein.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, in at least one embodiment wash fluid is addedto the slurry before, during, and/or after the separation. The washfluid may comprise water and/or may consist essentially of water. Thecomposition may be added to the wash fluid, may be added to the slurryalongside wash fluid, may be added to the slurry before the wash fluid,may be added to the slurry after the wash fluid, and any combinationthereof.

The effectiveness of this composition is quite unexpected. As describedin such references as U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,011,612, 5,454,329, and5,167,831, US Published Patent Application 2012/0288438 A1, and EuropeanPatent Documents EP0417360B1, EP0672620B1, EP1406711B1, EP0460811A1,EP0286034A1, fatty acids such as oleic acid and alkylsulfosuccinatecompounds such as dioctylsulfosuccinate are known to be effectivedewatering agents. The effectiveness of this composition however is incontrast to previous expectations. In prior art compositions it wasassumed that a strong carboxylic acid was needed to grasp the watermolecules and the fatty region was to address steric and lipophilicobstacles the acid faced. In contrast the structure of the open ring,and in particular the presence of two reflection carboxyl groups resultsin an acid that has an overall pKa which is lower than those of theprior art yet which is more effective than the prior art. In additionbecause of its lower pKa, R-succinic compounds have fewer unwanteddownstream reactions than prior art fatty acid dewatering agents. In atleast one embodiment the composition comprises an R-succinic compoundwith a lower pKa than dioctylsulfosuccinate and/or oleic acid yet ismore effective as a dewatering agent.

Without being limited by a particular theory or design of the inventionor of the scope afforded in construing the claims, it is believed thatthe unique structure of the R-succinic compound is what causesexceptionally effective dewatering effects. The R-succinic compoundcomprises an open ring which contains carbonyl and hydroxide groupswhose unique charge distribution may be able to “grasp” and “attach”more effectively to the mineral surface and thereby act to replace watermolecules that would otherwise remain hydrogen bonded to the surface.The ring structure and “two-headed” nature of the acid site thereforeworks better than would be expected by the lower pKa.

In at least one embodiment the composition also comprises a ring openingagent. Under certain chemical conditions the open ring of the R-succiniccompound could close by the formation of an anhydride bond between thehydroxide groups. The ring opening agent acts to prevent such ringclosings. In at least one embodiment the ring opening agent is a base.The base may be selected from the list consisting of; potassiumhydroxide, sodium hydroxide, sodium bicarbonate, sodium carbonate,ammonia, ammonium hydroxide, organic bases (including but not limited totriethylamine), and any combination thereof. The ring opening agent maybe a catalyst and/or may be a reactive composition. In at least oneembodiment the composition comprises an R-succinic compound inequilibrium between being open ringed and close ringed and the ringopening agent favorably shifts the equilibrium to favor the open ringedconfiguration. In at least one embodiment if in excess the ring openingagent would hydrolyze at least part of the ring and the dosage of theagent is sufficient to favorably shift the equilibrium to favor the openringed configuration but not substantially hydrolyze any part of thering.

In at least one embodiment the R-succinic compound is formed by openingthe ring of an R-succinic anhydride compound. For example as illustratedin FIG. 2 dodecenyl succinic anhydride (which is representative of anyC1-C100 succinic anhydride) can be used to make the R-succinic compound.The R-succinic compound may be formed as a result of a base drivenreaction.

In at least one embodiment the R-succinic compound is stored in ananhydride form and its ring is opened immediately prior to orsimultaneous to its introduction into the slurry or into the wash fluid.

In at least one embodiment the composition reduces the amount of washfluid required to remove the same amount of water from the slurry.

In at least one embodiment the composition reduces the amount of energyrequired to further dry the solids.

In at least one embodiment a lower dosage of the composition (and/or ofthe R-succinic compound) is required to remove the same amount of waterfrom the slurry relative to use of a prior art dewatering agent.

In at least one embodiment the composition reduces the amount of waterremaining with the filter cake resulting from a separation method thatthe slurry goes through.

In at least one embodiment the acid salt of the R-succinic compound mayalso be produced by base addition to the acid or to the anhydride. Thecounter ion of acid salt formed will depend on the base used. Asillustrated in FIG. 3, the use of sodium hydroxide results in the Na+salt, but salts of potassium, lithium, ammonium, or any other respectiveion may also form.

In at least one embodiment the R-succinic compound is in the form of: ananhydride form, an acid form, an acid salt form, and any combinationthereof.

In at least one embodiment the mineral processing application excludes amethod that includes processing aluminum. In at least one embodiment themineral processing application excludes some or all of the steps of theBayer Process.

EXAMPLES

The foregoing may be better understood by reference to the followingexamples, which are presented for purposes of illustration and are notintended to limit the scope of the invention. In particular the examplesdemonstrate representative examples of principles innate to theinvention and these principles are not strictly limited to the specificcondition recited in these examples. As a result it should be understoodthat the invention encompasses various changes and modifications to theexamples described herein and such changes and modifications can be madewithout departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and withoutdiminishing its intended advantages. It is therefore intended that suchchanges and modifications be covered by the appended claims.

A number of formulations were prepared to simulate the dewateringeffectiveness of the inventive composition. Table 1 summarizes theformulations.

TABLE 1 Water/ Other Formu- Active KOH Components lation Active % % % AHexadecenyl succinic acid 20 67 13 B Hexadecenyl succinic acid 5 95 0 CCommercially available 99 0 1 mixture of hexadecenyl succinic anhydrideand octadecenyl succinic anhydride D Commercially available 25 0 75fatty acid based product

The test procedure that the samples underwent was as follows:

Lithium Mineral Slurry

Filter feed slurry from an operating lithium mineral processing plantwas obtained and used in the test. In preparation for the test thisslurry was first filtered. The filtrate was collected and the filtercake air-dried at room temperature. Filtrate (25 g) and process filtercake (25 g) was added to 100 mL polycarbonate bottles to prepare theslurry at a known concentration. Dewatering aid test solutions wereprepared at 1 and 2% concentration in deionized water. Formulation C wasapplied in neat form, undiluted.

A known volume of dewatering aid test solution was added to a sample oflithium slurry and thoroughly mixed. The slurry was then poured into aBuchner funnel (70 mm diam., Whatman coarse filter paper) and allowed tosettle for 20 sec then a vacuum was applied for 20 sec. The cake wasthen sampled and the moisture content was determined gravimetrically bydrying in an oven at 110° C.

Magnetite Product Slurry

Filter feed slurry from an operating magnetite mineral processing plantwas obtained and used in the test. In preparation for the test thisslurry was first filtered. The filtrate was collected and the filtercake air-dried at room temperature. Filtrate (17 g) and magnetite filtercake (33 g) was added to 100 mL polycarbonate bottles to prepare theslurry at a known concentration. Dewatering aid test solutions wereprepared at 1 and 2% concentration in deionized water.

A known volume of dewatering aid test solution was added to a sample ofmagnetite slurry and thoroughly mixed. The slurry was then poured into aBuchner funnel (70 mm diam., Whatman coarse filter paper) and allowed tosettle for 20 sec then a vacuum was applied for 20 sec. The cake wasthen sampled and the moisture content was determined gravimetrically bydrying in an oven at 110° C.

Copper Product Slurry

Filter feed slurry from an operating copper mineral processing plant wasobtained and used in the test. In preparation for the test this slurrywas first filtered. The filtrate was collected and the filter cakeair-dried at room temperature. Filtrate (15 g) and copper filter cake(35 g) was added to 100 mL polycarbonate bottles to prepare the slurryat a known concentration.

A known volume of dewatering was added in neat form to a sample ofcopper slurry and thoroughly mixed. The slurry was then poured into aBuchner funnel (70 mm diam., Whatman coarse filter paper) and allowed tosettle for 20 sec then a vacuum was applied for 70 sec. The cake wasthen sampled and the moisture content was determined gravimetrically bydrying in an oven at 110° C.

The results of the tests were as follows:

Dewatering Aid Tests

TABLE 2 Effect of formulations on dewatering of lithium product slurryActives Dose % Reduction in Cake Treatment (g/T of lithium) Moisture A48 4.8 80 16.0 160 43.1 C 200 25.5 D 200 12.5

TABLE 3 Effect of HDSA formulations on dewatering of magnetite productslurry Actives Dose % Reduction in Cake Treatment (g/T of magnetite)Moisture A 120 7.6 B 300 11.5

TABLE 4 Effect of alkenyl succinic anhydrides on dewatering of copperproduct slurry Actives Dose % Reduction in Cake Treatment (g/T ofcopper) Moisture C 100 12.8 200 14.5In all tests, there was considerable moisture reduction in the filtercakes that were treated with the alkenyl succinic acid or anhydride.

While this invention may be embodied in many different forms, there aredescribed in detail herein specific preferred embodiments of theinvention. The present disclosure is an exemplification of theprinciples of the invention and is not intended to limit the inventionto the particular embodiments illustrated. All patents, patentapplications, scientific papers, and any other referenced materialsmentioned herein are incorporated by reference in their entirety.Furthermore, the invention encompasses any possible combination of someor all of the various embodiments mentioned herein, described hereinand/or incorporated herein. In addition the invention encompasses anypossible combination that also specifically excludes any one or some ofthe various embodiments mentioned herein, described herein and/orincorporated herein.

The above disclosure is intended to be illustrative and not exhaustive.This description will suggest many variations and alternatives to one ofordinary skill in this art. All these alternatives and variations areintended to be included within the scope of the claims where the term“comprising” means “including, but not limited to”. Those familiar withthe art may recognize other equivalents to the specific embodimentsdescribed herein which equivalents are also intended to be encompassedby the claims.

All ranges and parameters disclosed herein are understood to encompassany and all subranges subsumed therein, and every number between theendpoints. For example, a stated range of “1 to 10” should be consideredto include any and all subranges between (and inclusive of) the minimumvalue of 1 and the maximum value of 10; that is, all subranges beginningwith a minimum value of 1 or more, (e.g. 1 to 6.1), and ending with amaximum value of 10 or less, (e.g. 2.3 to 9.4, 3 to 8, 4 to 7), andfinally to each number 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 containedwithin the range. All percentages, ratios and proportions herein are byweight unless otherwise specified.

This completes the description of the preferred and alternateembodiments of the invention. Those skilled in the art may recognizeother equivalents to the specific embodiment described herein whichequivalents are intended to be encompassed by the claims attachedhereto.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A method of enhancing dewatering of amineral bearing slurry in a dewatering step of a mineral processingapplication, the method comprising: adding a wash fluid to the mineralbearing slurry; and adding to the mineral bearing slurry or to the washfluid a composition comprising at least one R-succinic compound having astructure selected from formula (I) or formula (II), a conjugateacid-base of the R-succinic compound having the structure selected fromformula (I) or formula (II), an anhydride of the R-succinic compoundhaving the structure selected from formula (I) or formula (II), or anycombination thereof, wherein formula (I) is

 and wherein R and R′ are independent, distinct, and represent alkyl,alkenyl, or aromatic hydrocarbon groups containing 1-30 carbon atoms. 2.The method of claim 1 in which the R-succinic compound is selected fromthe list consisting of: octadecenyl succinic acid, hexadecenyl succinicacid, dodecenyl succinic acid, and any combination thereof.
 3. Themethod of claim 1 in which the composition further comprises a base. 4.The method of claim 1 in which the composition is used within afiltration process.
 5. The method of claim 1 in which the R-succiniccompound forms in situ within the mineral bearing slurry or the washfluid.
 6. The method of claim 1 in which the R-succinic compound is inone form selected from the group consisting of: an anhydride form, anacid form, a salt form, and any combination thereof.
 7. The method ofclaim 1 in which the mineral bearing slurry contains one or moreminerals selected from the group consisting of: metals, non-metals,zinc, tin, aluminum, coal, iron, copper, gold, silver, rare earthmetals, diamonds, sulfur, noble metals, ferrous minerals, cobalt,nickel, lithium, metal sulfides, metal oxides, lead, molybdenum,cadmium, cobalt, sulfides, oxides, pyrites, hydrates, chromium,manganese, lime, calcium, carbonates, solids, and any combinationthereof.
 8. The method of claim 1 in which the dewatering step includes:using dewatering screens, sedimentation, filtering, thermal drying,suction drying, vacuum drying, or any combination thereof.
 9. The methodof claim 1 in which the dewatering step is upstream from one stage ofthe mineral processing application selected from the group consistingof: adsorption, centrifugation, cyclonic separation, density basedseparation, chromatography, crystallization, decantation, distillation,drying, electrophoresis, elutriation, evaporation, extraction,leachingextraction, liquid-liquid extraction, solid phase extraction, flotation,dissolved air flotation, froth flotation, flocculation, filtration, meshfiltration, membrane filtration, microfiltration, ultrafiltration,nanofiltration, reverse osmosis, fractional distillation, fractionalfreezing, magnetic separation, precipitation, recrystallization,sedimentation, gravity separation, sieving, stripping, sublimation,vapor-liquid separation, winnowing, zone refining, and any combinationthereof.
 10. The method of claim 1 in which the dewatering step isdownstream from one stage of the mineral processing application selectedfrom the group consisting of: adsorption, centrifugation, cyclonicseparation, density based separation, chromatography, crystallization,decantation, distillation, drying, electrophoresis, elutriation,evaporation, extraction, leaching extraction, liquid-liquid extraction,solid phase extraction, flotation, dissolved air flotation, frothflotation, flocculation, filtration, mesh filtration, membranefiltration, microfiltration, ultrafiltration, nanofiltration, reverseosmosis, fractional distillation, fractional freezing, magneticseparation, precipitation, recrystallization, sedimentation, gravityseparation, sieving, stripping, sublimation, vapor-liquid separation,winnowing, zone refining, and any combination thereof.
 11. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the wash fluid comprises water.
 12. The method of claim1, wherein the wash fluid consists essentially of water.
 13. The methodof claim 1, wherein the composition is added to the mineral bearingslurry alongside the wash fluid, before the wash fluid, after the washfluid, or any combination thereof.
 14. The method of claim 1, whereinthe composition is added to the wash fluid.
 15. The method of claim 3,wherein the base is selected from potassium hydroxide, sodium hydroxide,sodium bicarbonate, sodium carbonate, ammonia, ammonium hydroxide,organic bases, or any combination thereof.
 16. The method of claim 1,wherein the R-succinic compound is formed by opening the ring of anR-succinic anhydride compound.